For simplicity, we are going to refer to both app virtualization and desktop virtualization as VDI.
For over two decades, we have implemented VDI on-premises. Initially because it was the only way to do it, later because it was cheaper to do it on-premises, and more recently inertia.
But as more and more companies consider exit options from on-premises VDI, we hear three common questions:
- I don’t have enough time between now and my contract renewal date and the risks are too high
- The cloud is too expensive!
- My apps needs to be closer to my data
Not Enough Time – Forget Everything You Remember About VDI!
We remember how much time and effort it took for us to implement VDI on-premises. Who would want to repeat that? It could be 18 months from the start of the project to the first users getting access to their VDI – planning, architecture, sizing, acquisition of hardware, provisioning, UAT, and then finally production for the first set of users. In the cloud most of our customers can get to UAT in less than 3 months! Why? Simple. You don’t need to install any of the VDI stack – you can consume it as a service. You don’t need to worry about databases, controllers, load balancers, etc. And you don’t need to worry about sizing, acquisition and provisioning of infrastructure. Rollout speed really depends on your organization’s change management capabilities. But we estimate that you can roll out to 3k-5k users per quarter.
Cloud is Too Expensive – Only if you Don’t Use it as Designed!
If you think of the cloud as a 1-1 mapping of how you do things on-premises, then yes, it can be more expensive. But the cloud is fundamentally different. Whereas for on-premises, you have to buy and provision infrastructure up-front, in the cloud you can consume it as you need it, and pay for what you consume. Since you don’t fully understand the usage patterns, you need to be conservative and over-provision infrastructure on-premises, otherwise if you run out of infrastructure it could take you months to fully solve the problem. As a result, the average data center is less than 15% utilized. In the cloud, you can fine-tune your infrastructure to usage. Take advantage of the dynamic nature of the cloud and fine-tune your cost to usage, and you can increase your infrastructure utilization from 15% to 90% and save a lot of money.
My Apps Need to Be Closer to My Data – Maybe!
Should the desktop be closer to the user, or closer to the apps? It depends! This is a simple experiment to perform in the cloud during UAT. Put desktops in a region closer to the user and some desktops in a region closest to the data, and then let users test. Pick the option with the best end user experience. You have the option.
